SMB Origin
by Gameboyad
Summary: When Nintendo decides that the NES needs to go out with a bang, they host a virtual reality contest, in which the victor gets to be the basis of the new Super Mario Bros. game. Only the reality isn't just virtual.
1. Chapter 1

The air seemed to stand still as Mario stared on in horror, his mouth gaping at the massive void ripping open before his eyes. Peach held his arm in her tremblimg hands, gripping him tightly so that they could spend their last moments together. Luigi took a step back, pulling Daisy with him. His eyes opened wide and gazed into Daisy's as he searched through the depths of his mind to find a way to express his feelings for her. His mouth opened, but no sound escaped. Daisy wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest as she whispered, "I know."

Memeories of her mother whirled through Rosalina's head and she stared emptily at the void before her.

"I know what to do..."

* * *

_**2 Weeks Earlier...**_

"They want athletic games," the boss explained, standing before a table of creative artists for Nintendo's next game.

Standing, his assistant remarked, "I believe," he then realized the rudeness of his interruption and glanced at the boss, "If I may," the boss nodded, and he continued, "That what we need is a swan song to honor famicon, to prepare players for the boldness of systems to come. And of course, what is bolder than an athletic game?"

"I agree," began the boss, "And judging from how the public devoured Donkey Kong, I believe it would be a smart choice to make Mario the protagonist of this game."

It was now a programmer's turn to speak, "But, sir, Mario Bros. wasn't nearly as successful as expected."

"I believe that was a result of poor advertisement," the boss responded.

Another programmer stood, "What we need is a publicity stunt. Something to get the public involved with this. We could host a contest," everyone stared at him, unsure of what to think, "Or a competition…. Yes, a competition could be a perfect stunt to get our game out into the world. Go to America and host a contest, in which the contestants enter the world of the game, and whoever wins gets a cash prize. Who knows, it might even help inspire some ideas for our new game." With that, he sat down, rather satisfied with the following silence.


	2. Chapter 2

**_4 Weeks Later._**

_Alright..._ one programmer thought as he typed away on a computer, _So Mario will be based on Wesley, Luigi based on Robert, Wario based on John, WaLuigi based on Robert, and the princess based on Sarah... Simple enough. This is the least we owe those kids after all we put them through- a game based on their experience. Might as well let something good come out of it..._

* * *

_**4 Weeks Earlier**_

"Beer?" John offered his friends as he entered their house. Both of them took him up on his offer. "Will couldn't come tonight. He wasn't feeling too good earlier. Something he ate messed him up."

"Oh, man," Robert thought about last time Will got sick, and the memory was far from pleasant, "Well, I was just on my way out. The girls are waiting for a ride over here, so I'm going to pick them up."

John gave Robert a look, "Oooh, I see. Picking up chicks, huh?"

"No, not like that."

"Oh, really? I could have sworn that Sarah had her daddy's car to take her places."

"Well, she _did_, but she decided that she didn't want his help anymore. She told him off and said that she 'didn't need him because she was a strong, independent woman,' " all three burst out in laughter, "but, really. I wasn't about to let them drive with the roads iced over like this."

"Alright. Just don't get distracted," he snickered.

"Yeah, yeah," Robert waved him off and walked out the door.

As soon as he had left, Wesley and John started talking, something they felt they couldn't do with Robert there. Robert had always been on the sensitive side, and rarely started a conversation. It was obvious that he longed to have a relationship like his brother and John had, but he could never bring himself to it as a result of his social anxiety. John and Wesley felt sorry for him, as did Rosalina, Daisy, and Sarah, because he was such a sweet guy, and he deserved to have a good friend. Will was as close to a friend as he would get, although not because they were truly "friends," but rather because they had equal levels of social awkwardness.

Wesley, on the other hand, was one of the most outgoing men around. He always had something to add to the conversation, and had remarkable social skills. He was the object of all the girls' affection, as he also possessed a certain boyish charm. However, none of them made any moves toward him, and he never advanced on them.

"So, when are you and Sarah going to get together?" John asked quiet bluntly, however Wesley wasn't put off by this question at all.

"Eh, I don't know. I'm not sure if she's into—"

"Come on! All three of them are into you!"

"None of them say anything. I don't want to put any pressure on them."

"Bull! Mr. High and Mighty is just scared he'll get rejected."

"Yeah, right," Wesley tried to hide it, but John had known his friend's secret weakness. Wesley had always been terrified of rejection. His fear stemmed from his childhood, when his parents abandoned him and left him an orphan. He always hated them for that.

"You've got to give it a chance, Wes, or you'll never find out."

"I guess I'll just never know."

* * *

As Robert drove down the street, he felt his car occasionally slip out of his control, and each time it did so, he had a mini heart attack. A few miles into his drive, he saw a light piercing the night sky. As he approached it, he saw that it was shining from a large circus tent sitting in the plaza. He passed it by, but his mind swarmed with ideas of what might be inside of it.

When he finally arrived at Sarah's house, the three girls all hopped in his car, chattering excitedly.

"God, Sarah, why not?"

"Well, why would he even like me?"

"He obviously likes you, the question is," Daisy made eyes at Sarah, "Does he like you, like you?"

"Just stop. Nothing is going to happen between us."

"You say that now," Rosalina joked.

"What are you talking about?" Robert asked.

"No, I mean it," Sarah ignored him, "There is not and never will be anything between us."

"Alright, fine."

"So, what's the topic of conversation tonight, ladies?" Robert asked again.

"Well, maybe," and he was ignored again, "I mean, I guess he is nice. And strong… And handsome…."

"More like hot!"

"That's cool, I didn't want to know anyways…," Robert sighed.

When Robert drove by the tent again, he decided to get out and take a closer look.

"Hey, where are you going?" Daisy asked.

"I'm just checking this place out," he responded. He walked inside to find that it was only an arcade. As he turned around to leave, an unfamiliar Japanese man handed him a flyer with the words "Super Mario Bros." stamped across the top in enormous print.

"What is this?" Robert asked.

"This flyer is for a contest we are hosting here tomorrow. The winner gets $1,000 and special thanks in our new game, Super Mario Bros.! And entry is free. Just bring a team and your game face, and be prepared for a hardcore showdown," the man explained.

Robert thanked him, and went back to the car, not looking up from the flyer the entire time.

"What's that for?" Daisy asked once he got back in the car.

"A contest. Nintendo's hosting it, and the winner gets a thousand dollars. Since none of us are exactly rich, I thought this might be fun to enter."

Daisy looked at the flyer for a moment, and then showed it to Rosalina and Sarah. The three chattered like birds about it for the rest of the car ride, ignoring any small bit Robert would try to add to the conversation.

* * *

"They're here. I think I hear Robert's car."

"Oh, alright. So, you better make your move on Sarah tonight, Wes!"

"Alright. Fine."

"Oh, don't act like you don't want to."

"I'm not, I just—" Wesley didn't get to finish his sentence, as Robert walked in with the girls.

"We're here," Robert announced.

"Hey," Wesley took a deep breath as he prepared to talk to Sarah.

"Hi, Wes," Sarah smiled at him, "Can I talk to you?"

Wesley jumped up, and then realizing how that must look, coolly answered, "Sure." They walked together to Wesley's bedroom, where they sat and discussed what they had longed to discuss for quite some time.

"What do you think they're doing?" Robert asked the group.

"What do _you_ think?" John chuckled.

"If she got lucky, maybe they'll… you know, have—" Rosalina began.

"Stop!" Robert winced, "I don't want to think my brother's doing that."

Everyone laughed, excluding Robert. The thought of his brother engaging in... the forbidden activity repulsed him. His response was not out of envy or loathing, simply out of disgust.

Rosalina promptly stood up and announced that she needed to use the restroom. Daisy followed her, agreeing that she too needed to use the bathroom, although the men knew that whenever someone had a conversation in Wesley's bedroom, the girls would visit the adjoining bathroom to listen in.

"Sarah?" Wesley addressed her, "I think… I love you."

An expression of severe shock suddenly crossed her faced. Her features flushed, and she averted her eyes before she could contemplate what had just occurred. Suddenly, she came to a realization, and she took his hand in her own, "I love you too."

They exchanged a few awkward glances, and forced a laugh each time their eyes met, but there was nothing funny about what had just happened. Two people had just fallen in love.

Wesley leaned in to kiss her, but stopped short after hearing a series of giggles through the wall to the bathroom.

"Damn it, I'm sorry. They always do this," Sarah apologized and then yelled at the girls, "Daisy! Rosalina! Get out!"

The giggles quickly died down, but it was obvious that they had not left. Sarah got up and banged on the door to the response of "Out in a minute!"

Wesley was left sitting on the bed, contemplating the possibilities of what could have occurred, had their lips met.


	3. Chapter 3

The boss scanned the room to verify that all the changes were complete, and nodded his head with approval. The enormous room looked like a vast white wonderland with small colored dots distributed throughout.

_This is what success looks like_, he thought to himself, quite proud of his accomplishment, _tomorrow will mark the first time in history that Nintendo sends its players into virtual reality._

The boss left the room, grinning like a proud father.

* * *

That night, Robert told all of his friends about the contest he had heard about and showed them the flyer. They all sounded quite enthusiastic about the idea of playing a game to make money. The flyer said to come with a group of 2-4, so the women constituted one team, and the men made up the other. They were all too excited to sleep and imagined all the possibilities with the money they would make, and wondered just what the game would be. As soon as the sun rose, the group headed out to the contest, still ceaselessly babbling. Once they arrived and entered the strange tent, they all gasped, and looked around with starry eyes.

"Hey!" Will shouted as he walked in, "I can't believe you guys didn't tell me you'd be here…"

"Oh, sorry, Will," Robert responded, "We thought you were sick."

As was the custom, Robert was the only one who even noticed Will's presence for some time. The rest of the group was busy exploring the plethora of arcade games and enjoying each others' company. Wesley and Sarah held hands as they explored this wonderland together, until a large, booming voice sounded over a speaker, ringing throughout the tent.

"Attention, contestants!" the voice shouted, "Please meet in the back if you are participating in the Nintendo Challenge!"

There was a sudden rush of people to the back of the tent, where the boss stood on a tall pedestal to speak to everyone.

"Welcome, all," the boss began, "To Nintendo's first-ever virtual reality competition! In fact, the _world's_ first-ever virtual reality competition!" the boss spoke quickly, as he was very excited and anxious to begin, "If you will all stay back here, I will call up one group at a time to give me your pertinent information and sign a release waver."

Group by group, excited people rushed up to the boss, and jabbered on and on about their devotion to Nintendo. Eventually, it was time for the last group: Wesley's.

"Who will be your team captain?"

"Wesley," John answered before anyone else had a chance to speak.

"And what will be your group emblem?"

The team looked around at each other for a moment, confused.

"What item would you like to represent you?"

"Oh!" Wesley exclaimed, although he still had no idea what item he should use. He glanced around at his team, and saw that Will was wearing a shirt reading "Fun Guy!" with a picture of a mushroom above the caption, and blurted out, "Mushroom?"

His teammates just stared at him for a moment, confused by his decision.

"Favorite food?"

The men's eyes all met, and they answered in unison, "Pizza."

"Alright. Now, if you'll just sign these wavers, you'll be good to go and we can begin our contest," handing them their wavers, he explained, "All this says is that if you get hurt playing the game, we are not responsible for the damage."

They all signed their names, and retreated back to the women. They spoke for a moment, but were quickly interrupted by that booming voice again, "Allllright, ladies and gentlemen! The contest will begin momentarily! If you'll all just gather around this pedestal, we will descend into the game room momentarily.

_Descend?_ Robert wondered as he shoved through the crowd to catch up with his brother, _What does he mean "Descend?"_

Once everyone had gathered around the pedestal, the boss shouted, "Alright! Who's ready to play Super Mario Brothers!?"

As he said this, the ground began to shake, and the crowd roared. The floor around the pedestal began to sink, like an elevator with no walls.

"Everyone, take a pair of these glasses and pass the rest down. They will allow you to see inside the world of the game," the boss explained, "If you take them off at any point, it will result in immediate disqualification."

Once the "elevator" had landed, the boss signaled for everyone to step off, and it rose back above their heads. Everyone stared up at it in awe as the boss resumed his opening speech.

"My co-designer and programmers will all be in that room," he motioned toward a small room away from the game room with two small screens, "We will watch you all through the screens to make sure that no one gets hurt of breaks any rules. You may all put your glasses on now."

He retreated back into the room as all the players put on the spectacular glasses.

His voice sounded over a speaker system, echoing throughout the seemingly endless room, as the images on the players' glasses materialized, "You may begin."


	4. Chapter 4

As the players looked around through the glasses, they saw that they were inside of a beautiful castle. The aroma of flowers permeated the air, much to Wesley's confusion.

"How—?" he began before a sweet-looking servant approached him and cut him off.

"How can you smell that? Simple. There are vents located there, there, and there," as she explained, she pointed at small vents on the ground, "through which scents rise to give you a more realistic experience while you play."

"And who—?" she interrupted once more.

"Who am I? I am a servant here in the castle. The director made a whole bunch of artificial intelligence to help him run this place. So that means that I'm not saying what he asks me to say, but rather saying what my feelings, which were given to me by him, prompt me to," she answered simply.

"And," she began to stop him yet again, "Wait! Let me finish this time. Where do I go from here?"

"I actually have an announcement to make about that…" her voice suddenly became loud and raspy as she called out, "Attention players! For the first night of the contest, you will be staying here."

A whisper rushed through the crowd, "_First_ night?… Wait, what?… We'll be here overnight?"

* * *

"Why do they look so confused?" the boss himself was now confused, "The flyer said they'd be here for a few nights, didn't it?" He looked around the room, but the others all averted their eyes, "Didn't it?"

"I, uh, may have forgotten to put that in the flyer, sir," a programmer admitted.

"Damn it, I needed one thing! A damn flyer!" he grabbed the microphone sitting on his desk and spoke into it, sending his booming voice out into the playing field.

* * *

"Players, please excuse this interruption, but there has been a miscommunication," a loud voice rang throughout the castle, "It seems that our flyer failed to mention that this event will take a few days to complete. If anyone must leave because of this, please do so now."

The crowd seemed to all groan together as eight of the fifteen groups shuffled out of the castle.

"Do you think we can stay?" Robert asked his brother.

"I think so. John? Will?"

John nodded as Will doubled over and grabbed his stomach, "Oh, God. I think I'm too sick."

"Okay, so it's decided, we're staying," Wesley announced.

"Anyways," the servant continued, "tonight, we will hold a feast with all of your favorite foods," Will suddenly stood upright with wide eyes, "and afterward, you may sleep in the beds we have ready for you. In the meantime, please feel free to explore the castle and the garden. Everything outside of that is out-of-bounds for now, as it is being prepared for tomorrow's festivities."

With that, everyone dispersed. Wesley and Sarah walked hand in hand into the garden and looked around at the flowers with Rosalina and Daisy trailing closely behind them.

"Look at all the plants. They're so… serene," Sarah smelled a flower.

"Serene?"

"Yeah. The trees all stand there so majestically," she looked up at Wesley, "I know, it's stupid."

"No, I think it's sweet," he flashed a charming smile and reached up to grab a peach for her.

"They're not real, remember?" Sarah reminded Wesley.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I guess we can do without a peach."

* * *

The boss looked through the screen on the right, which produced vision similar to that produced by the glasses. He observed Wesley trying to reach one of the non-existent peaches, and pressed a button on his keyboard, followed by his rapidly typing in a command. As he did so, a peach became visible through the screen on the left, through which he could see reality. He had truly blended the virtual and reality.

* * *

"Are you excited, Sarah?"

"Well, yeah. I just don't want to compete against you."

"I know, me too, but our friends would have been so mad if we had left—" a peach fell on Wesley's head, and he looked up at the tree, perplexed. He picked up the peach and bit into it, expecting it to be made of Styrofoam, but as his teeth sank into it, juice gushed out of the flesh and into his mouth.

"Is it real?"

Wesley stood in awe for a moment before answering, "Yes. Try this, it's so good!"

Sarah then tried it herself and experienced the same sensation. Wesley reached up into the tree and grabbed two more, handing her one and keeping the other for later. Rosalina and Daisy then approached the tree and got their own (meanwhile, the boss was struggling to keep up with the hungry beasts' appetites).

When they all decided to go back inside, they wanted to investigate upstairs. When they ascended, they knew that the ground was really flat, but somehow, the feeling of walking up stairs was recreated, as well as the appearance.

When the time for the feast had finally come, everyone met in the grand dining hall. Of course, Sarah and Wesley sat next to each other, as this would probably be the last time they would get to be a team until the contest was over.

"Hello, everyone!" the servant who Wesley met earlier smiled, "At this feast, you will get to enjoy your favorite meal before you go off to battle. Now, as the servants come around to serve you, I will explain the rules of the game," as she spoke, many other servants walked into the room carrying silver platters and placed them on the table for the player to enjoy, "Rules are: anything goes! If you find yourself in a situation where you could easily eliminate your competition, take the opportunity! Your goal is to win. Each of you has one life, meaning when you die, you're dead. That's that. Now, the goal of the game: Tonight, while you are all sleeping, the villain of our game will come into the castle and abduct one team."

Everyone threw each other nervous glances and tried to pick out which team the victims would be, "If you are on the team that gets kidnapped, your goal is to escape. If you manage to kill the villain and escape the dungeon, you win. However, you will likely be tied down to prevent your escape, making it slightly harder, so you get an extra life. All other groups, your goal is to reach the dungeon they are being held at and rescue them."

The players all ate in silent meditation, sometimes glancing around the room to figure out who was most likely to get kidnapped. More than once, Wesley made eye contact with a dark-haired young woman across the table who wore far too much eye shadow. Each time, she gave him a menacing stare, and on one occasion, Wesley leaned down and asked John if he knew her.

"Yeah, I met her outside earlier. Her name's Belle. She called her group the 'Sirens.' They all look pretty terrifying, so I doubt they'd be picked to get kidnapped."

"Do you know any of the other teams?"

"Mh-hm," devouring a slice of his pizza, "That one over there with the bald spot is Olli. He's a clown. Like, literally, a clown. He said he just came to the tent to find a job, and found this instead. And that girl, the one with the blonde hair, that's Cameron. Not a real threat, but still somewhat feisty. That weird foreign-looking guy is Edgar. He's a scientist. And, lastly, that girl's Sierra. Her team is really hardcore and athletic. They're probably the biggest threat here."

John and Wesley sat through the rest of the meal discussing their tactics, while the other teams all came up with their own. Finally, they all went up to bed, a place that they should have been able to feel safe… but couldn't tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

Rosalina couldn't sleep that night. She stood on her balcony, gazing up into the CGI stars. _They're so beautiful,_ she thought. They reminded her of her home back in Ohio, where she would sit outside and gaze up at the stars with her mother and father. But her mother died, and she moved to Washington with her father so he could make enough money to support her.

Suddenly, a blast of wind came over her. _I guess the air conditioner's on. It was sort of hot in here earlier._ The gusts of wind came in diminishing intervals until the gusts were practically seamless. It was then that Rosalina saw a figure in the sky flying toward the castle.

"It's here," she whispered in horror, slowly backing away. She looked at the creature, and was repulsed when she could make out the details. It had a small, yellow snout and a brittle mouth that could breathe fire. Its claws were very unkempt, as if they belonged on a witch's finger. She ran back into the room so that she couldn't be seen, but it was too late. The creature landed on her terrace and trudged into the room, dragging its wings and thorny tail behind it.

It breathed on Rosalina's face, and as she inhaled, she fell to the ground unconscious. It repeated the ritual on Daisy and Sarah's sleeping visages. The two briefly awoke before falling out cold back into their beds. The creature picked the three bodies up and flew away with as much ease as it had before.

* * *

"Good. It's taken the girls," the boss informed his coworkers, "I think that's fair."

The boss's assistant approached the screen and observed what was happening, "Wait, what is it doing? Isn't it supposed to take them all to its dungeon?"

"It is," the boss looked back at the screen, "It _was._ Damn it, what's wrong with it?"

He furiously typed away on his keyboard, but the creature didn't obey his orders. As it flew, it left Rosalina in the nearby grasslands, and flew past its own dungeon to take Daisy to a separate dungeon far beyond the one it owned.

"It's separating all of them!" the assistant exclaimed, "Why is it doing that?"

He sat down at his keyboard, and tried to program the creature, but there was no effect. "Bowser" (as the assistant had affectionately named his best piece of work) had a mind of his own.

* * *

A small star-like creature was the first to find Rosalina after the winged beast dropped her off in a grassy plain. It nudged at Rosalina and seemed to meow to wake her up. She began to stir, and the star became very excited. As her eyes slowly slid open, the star danced around above her.

"Hello," she smiled at the star, and then remembered what just happened, "Where am I?"

"Hi!" the star squeaked.

"What's your name? Are you lost too?"

"I'm a Luma! Luma's don't have names… Can you help me look for something?"

"Of course! What is it?"

The Luma hesitated before answering, "My mother. Bowser made our ship crash, and she said that she'd come for me one day on a comet, and then she shut her eyes and just… disappeared."

"Well, I guess I have to help you find your mother don't I? What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

"Friend?" the young Luma's eyes lit up.

"Naturally," Rosalina smiled, "By the way, I'm Rosalina."

"Rosalina…"

* * *

Next, it was Sarah who woke up. She looked around, confused, and stood up. _Where am I?_ she asked herself. Soon, she remembered that one group would be taken to the dungeon, and figured that she was that girl— that _team_… _Where are they anyways?_

"Daisy? Rosalina?" she yelled. The call echoed throughout the halls of the dungeon.

The ground suddenly began to shake as a shadowy figure approached Sarah.

"Who is that?" she asked, but there was no response. When the figure finally stepped into the light, Sarah lurched away.

"You can call me Bowser." The creature answered, as its horns and scale slowly sunk beneath his skin and his hair grew out on the top of his head. Sarah speculated that he was actually quite an attractive man.

"I'm Sarah."

"I know."

She walked up to him to touch his face, and stood in awe of how life-like it was. As she touched him, he inhaled sharply and held his breath, turning away.

"What was that for?" she asked. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"But, I'm holding you captive," Bowser was bewildered.

"Well, not really. I'm not in chains or tied down to a chair. This is actually about as far from being captive as I've ever been… But is there a bathroom in here?"

Bowser's confusion was certainly showing as he answered her, "Um, yes? Second door to your right…"

"Thanks."

* * *

The sun began to rise on the virtual horizon, and Wesley sprang out of bed to check on Sarah. As he raced to her room, his heart skipped every other beat. He pounded on her door, waking all the players who weren't already up. He swung the door on her response, or lack thereof, and searched the room frantically for any sign that she was still there. John walked in and, seeing Wesley's struggle, patted his friend on the back and walked him out of the room in an attempt to calm him down, but it was all in vain.

John allowed Wesley a few moments to collect himself, but then made him move out, for that would allow them to find Sarah more quickly.

Before they left, Wesley requested a moment alone in his room. Once his friends left, he walked over to his bedside and grabbed the peach from the day before, which was lying in a crevice near the wall, and held it close to his face.

He shut his eyes and whispered, "I'll get you back, my little peach…"

(The directors made note of that. Sarah was far too typical of a name for it to belong to a Nintendo princess, so perhaps they would call their damsel in distress "Peach.")

Wesley followed his team outside, and they left the castle's lush garden behind for the rough terrain they would soon come to know.


	6. Chapter 6

"Doing all right in there?" Bowser checked on Sarah.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

While Bowser was busy worrying about whether Sarah had healthy bowel movements, she was using her time creating a spear out of a thick wire she extracted from the toilet's inner mechanisms. She had charmed Bowser so that he wouldn't expect what she was about to do. It would be harder than she expected, though, as Bowser was standing guard at the bathroom door and showed no signs that he planned on leaving soon. Once she finished crafting her weapon, she slowly opened the door and walked out, hiding the spear behind her back.

"Thank God you're okay. I was sort of worried," Bowser admitted, blushing slightly. Sarah felt bad about what she was about to do because he seemed so sweet, but she knew two things: One, it had to be done. Two, he was only a computer.

As he turned to walk her back to her room, he smiled, and she returned the gesture. She slowly lifted her hand-crafted weapon into the air and swiftly brought it down into Bowser's back.

He roared in pain as Sarah began to run away. His claws and scales seeped out of his skin and his hair retreated back into his skull as he stomped after the rogue damsel. He lunged at her, and, slightly tearing her clothes, dug his nails deeply into her skin to the point that blood flowed out of her wounds. She let loose a bloodcurdling screech, causing Bowser to recoil only slightly. He breathed his soporific breath on her, and she fainted once again. He slung her limp body over his shoulder and dragged her back to her room.

He looked up at the room he had decorated and contemplated sadly. He had set up the pink canopy, painted the walls, and hung up the impressionist paintings all on his own. Why was it that no matter how hard he tried, a beautiful woman like Sarah could never love him as he loved her?

* * *

"God…" Will wretched, "I'm not kidding. I'm sick. I'm… gonna… hur—"

John looked back to make sure his brother was alright, and continued on his trek. As was the custom, Robert put his arm around Will and acted as a crutch to make sure that his friend was alright.

"Are you okay, buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine for now. Thanks."

A little further forward, Wesley spotted a floating object.

"Hey, what's that?" he peered ahead.

"It looks like a block," John remarked. The two raced ahead to the mysterious blocks while Robert lingered back with Will.

"Robert, you know, you're always there for me. I don't thank you enough for that."

"Aw, it's no problem. Anything for a friend."

"That's the thing. For a little while… I think I've liked you as, well, more than just a friend."

Robert just stood dumbly for a moment, looking at Will, whose eyes were averted, "Well, I'm flattered. I'm just not into, you know…"

"Yeah, sorry. I already knew that, I just… forget it."

Robert felt sorry for Will. He had just revealed his deepest secret, and all Robert could say was, "Alright," before they walked together in silence to catch up with their brothers.

"Hey!" Wesley shouted as they approached, "Look what was in these boxes we found in midair!"

Wesley held up four small mushrooms, "It's our emblem!"

Sure enough, when the mushrooms got in range of sight, a caption appeared on the entire team's glasses, reading "Mushroom team emblem—Try eating them when you're in trouble!"

"Look out!" Robert shouted to Will as a man sprinted right through him, knocking him to the ground. The man pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot at one of the blocks in midair as he ran by. The man caught the two shoes that came out and he passed one to the woman who John called Sierra, who trailed close behind him. With the shoes in their hands, the team moved at twice their former speed with only half the effort. So far, that was the only group ahead of Wesley's. As the sprinters ran ahead to a gape in the ground, prepared to descend into it, a group of beasts sprang up from it. The beasts raced out, prepared to attack all players in their way.

Thinking quickly, Wesley shouted to his team, "Don't use the mushrooms! Save yours for later!" and devoured his. As he did so, he grew exponentially, to the point where all the beasts looked like ants. He crushed the beasts under his weight, being careful to avoid the other players, and then picked up his teammates, and blew on the land behind him hard enough that the players were all forced back by the strong gust.

Now, Wesley's team was in the lead, far ahead of the other teams. Once he shrunk back to his normal size, he descended into the opening in the ground.

* * *

"Rosalina, look!" the Luma shouted, "It's a blue comet! We have to go there."

The Luma had granted Rosalina the ability to survive in outer space in return for the promise of shelter from the creature that attacked her earlier. Presently, they sat on a small, rocky planet, observing everything around them.

"You're right. If your mother is in any comet, it'll be that one," Rosalina smiled, although she knew inside that the Luma's mother was actually dead. How else could she just disappear? It was just like Rosalina's mother had done… disappeared.

The two soared through space using Rosalina's newly appointed magic and landed on the blue comet.

"Mommy!" the Luma called, "Mommy, I'm here! I came all the way here for you. I searched long and hard, but I found you! I did!" there was a brief pause as the Luma awaited its mother's response, "Mommy?"

Rosalina held the Luma tight as a solemn tear slowly streamed down her face.


	7. Chapter 7

"Damn," was all that Wesley had to say about the enormous cavern his team had just entered.

"Congratulations!" a voice echoed throughout the cavern, "Team Mushroom, you have advanced to World 1-2! You are now in the lead position in the game. You are now given the team name "Mario and Luigi!" If you manage to stay in first place throughout the course of the game, you will be able to maintain this title. If not, it will be given to the current winners. Good luck!"

With that, a cheerful shout came from the top of the cavern, "Hey, John!"

John turned around to look, and he saw the clown that he had met the previous day, "Hey, Olli, right?"

"Yup. Fancy meeting you here."

"How did you get here so fast? I thought Wesley's breath blew everyone pretty far away."

"Most everyone. Look at this," he held up a cape, "This is my emblem. It makes me invisible for a little while, and nothing can touch me. Pretty high-tech… Now, listen. I seem to have lost my partner, Bo. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him. Would it be alright if I traveled with you guys until I find him?"

The team agreed, and the five of them walked off into the darkness of the cave to explore its mysteries.

* * *

"I agree completely, sir. The rules clearly stated that only four people could be on a team. Should we disqualify them?" one programmer asked.

"No… not disqualify them," the boss was deep in thought, "Maybe just separate them. I saw a few things that could help us separate John and Will from the rest of them. I'll go ahead and discuss it with them now."

With the click of a few buttons, small headphones emerged from Will and John's glasses.

"Do not speak or respond in any way to what I am about to say. Only listen and nod your head for yes or shake for no. Now, I want you two, Will and John, to form your own team separate from Wesley and Robert. Will you do that?" Both shook their heads, "What if I offer to upgrade you two to make it easier for you to advance. You see, I believe that Wesley and Robert have an unfair advantage, and I want to prevent that. Will you please comply?"

They shook their heads once again, "Will, I observed you earlier, and I noticed that you expressed your deepest desires to Robert, and he rejected you."

John looked up at his brother, confused, "What desires?"

"Forget it."

"And John," the boss continued, "Are you not tired of Wesley always getting the best chances? Of him always being the leader of the group?"

John took a moment to think, and then nodded.

"I just want the game to be fair, so if you'll please form a separate group. As soon as your friends look away, hide and find your own way. Can you do that?"

The brothers nodded.

The boss went back to work, making John and Will's headphones disappear, "See, wasn't that easier than disqualifying them?"

His coworkers all nodded their heads as they worked on their own assignments. The boss prompted all lighting in the cave to disappear momentarily so that his new anti-Mario and anti-Luigi could escape.

_"Hmm. Anti-Mario. That's not a very original name. How could we make that more creative?"_ the boss thought, _"_Ah,_ I know! Wariu is Japanese for_ _"bad," so we can name them Wariu-Mario and Wariu-Luigi. Still too long... Maybe Wario and__ WaLuigi would be better. Yes, that fits nicely…"_

* * *

Rosalina and Luma had begun building a house on the small rocky planet they first visited. It turned out that the Luma was quite a builder.

"How do you get all of this done so fast?" Rosalina asked.

"It's my job. I can transform things," the Luma explained.

Suddenly, Rosalina heard a crackling noise from nearby.

"What's that?" she inquired.

"What? I don't hear anything."

"Never mind," she tried to ignore it, but she heard it again. She followed the noise until she located its source: a sparkling egg.

_What is it?_ she wondered. She soon realized that the crackling noise was a result of something hatching out of the egg. Once it emerged, she could see that it was a Luma. It looked up at her with enormous, bright eyes, and flew out of its shell.

"Mama?" it giggled.

It then began to circle around her and chant, "Mama! Mama!" Rosalina had never felt more complete and full of hope. Just because she lost her mother didn't mean that these Lumas had to live without a mother of their own.

"Yes," Rosalina laughed and gently nuzzled the Luma, "I _am_ your mother."


	8. Chapter 8

Mario, Luigi, and Olli emerged from the cave, tired, fatigued, and in pain from all the beasts that lived in the cave. They were even too tired to search for their missing friends. As they looked around, however, they were glad that they had taken the cave route, as above it was a mass of thorns that seemed to extend for eternity.

"Alright. I'll do it," Olli gave in to an argument that did not exist, "I'll find Will and John. I'm the newcomer, so it's only fair."

"No!" Luigi exclaimed, "But you are right. We need to find our friends. I'll go with you."

"What?" Mario groaned, "If we keep it up like this, we'll die before we find them."

Luigi pulled his brother behind him as he and Olli reentered the cave. Luigi could hear the patter of footsteps, and ran ahead to find the source.

"Wait!" Mario called, "Aren't you scared?"

Luigi smiled, "The one thing I'm not scared of is an adventure," and with that, he ran into the depths of the cave. He felt safe, because all the beasts in the cavern had already been defeated, so he proceeded with little caution.

As a gunshot rang throughout the cave, followed by a scream, Luigi fell to the ground, cowering. Afraid that Mario would see him like this, Luigi quickly stood and brushed himself off. He raced to the source of all the loud noises, and eventually encountered two groups about to go head to head.

"Don't shoot that gun off unless you intend to use it on me," Cameron challenged.

"You want me to?" the speedy man from earlier placed his gun on Cameron's forehead, "Because I will. There's nothing to stop me."

Olli arrived on the scene, and upon seeing it, cried, "Bill, put it down. Don't do anything you'll regret."

"Shut up, clown," Sierra retaliated.

"Please," Olli approached Bill, "Please, Bill. Come on."

Bill slowly lowered his gun, and just when Olli thought Bill was done, he swung around and planted his fist in Cameron's face.

She felt the blood dripping from her busted lip, and pulled a wand from her pocket."

"Ooh, a magic wand! I'm terrified!" Bill taunted Cameron. Cameron's friend, Carrie, stood back and watched in amusement as this spectacle occurred.

"Yep. Just a magic wand," Cameron responded before waving the wand about in the air.

As she did so, stalactite fell from the top of the cave, hitting Sierra on the head. The sight was rather comical, even Luigi thought so.

Bill shouted at Cameron as Sierra fell to the floor, seemingly dead.

* * *

"That's the first game over," the boss said to himself, peering into the screens. As he looked, he noticed something highly disturbing.

"She died," he gasped, looking into the left screen, "It's really there! The stone that killed her is actually right there next to her." He then began to speak to the players.

"Players, please remove your glasses and evacuate the gaming room immediately."

* * *

"Players, please—" was all that everyone could hear, before a harsh static cut the message off.

Mario disregarded it as he set up camp for the night, right outside of the cave. _It sure would be nice if anyone would help me, _he thought bitterly. He had located blocks in which tents were stored, as well as other necessary supplies. Olli sat near a fire, comforting a distraught Bill.

* * *

_Why is no one listening?_ the boss asked himself, _I guess I'll have to go out there myself._

He walked over to the doorway leading to the game room and tried to open it, but to no avail, "Who locked the door? I need the key. Immediately."

The workers all exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Sorry, sir, but none of us locked it."

Then, the boss heard a whisper through the door, "The game isn't over yet. You can have them all back when I'm done with them."

The boss, disturbed, sat back down and gave his best effort at trying to reprogram the game.


	9. Chapter 9

The game room was silent and nearly still as night fell. Mario stood outside his tent, gazing up at the slowly pulsing stars for a moment before he went to sleep. A shooting star seemed to glide across the night sky, and Mario shut his eyes and wished that he could be with Sarah once more. Mario shuffled inside of the tent as Bill walked outside.

"Trouble sleeping?" Mario asked.

"Yes," Bill answered coldly.

Mario got inside his sleeping bag, but he couldn't sleep. Thoughts of Sarah haunted his mind. Could she be safe? Who is holding her captive? How is she handling whatever is happening to her? All he could do was wonder.

* * *

Sarah couldn't sleep that night either.

"Princess Peach?" Bowser walked into her room holding a beautiful pink dress.

"My name is Sarah," she snapped.

Attempting to maintain his former politeness, Bower explained, "I'm sorry. The directors asked me to call you Peach."

Peach looked away angrily.

"I made this dress for you. I hope you like it. Please wear it to dinner tonight."

"I'm not coming to dinner and I'm certainly not wearing that dress."

Bowser looked incredulous, "Yes, you are. You don't have much of a choice."

"You know what, I can't handle any more of this game! I'm taking off the glasses," Peach cried.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bowser warned her, "You won't be able to see the virtual reality, but I assure you that you'll still feel it. The same walls will still be there, same enemies. You're trapped, princess."

She took the dress from his hands, and ripped the skirt right down the middle.

"You…" Bowser shook with rage, "have no idea how long and hard I worked to make that. I made a dress for you. _A dress! _Now, you listen very closely. You _will_ come to dinner and you _will_ wear the dress. Is that clear?"

"I'm not going to," Peach gritted her teeth.

Bowser, transforming into a beast, grabbed Peach's arms and began to drag his nails deep into her skin.

"Stop!" she yelled, crying out in pain, "I'll do it! Please, just stop!"

"Change into the dress," Bowser whispered, releasing his grip on the princess.

"Okay," Peach succumbed, "Please leave for a moment."

"No. I'm going to stay here and make sure you don't try anything."

Peach began to slip off her shirt, facing away from Bowser. The shirt rubbed against her skin created static, causing her hair to float gently away from her head. She ran her trembling fingers through her hair, attempting to tame it. Her breathing became labored as it escaped her bluing lips. She hesitantly put the dress on, nervously pondering what could be going through Bowser's mind.

The red slowly faded out of his complexion as he calmed down. He morphed back into a human, and looked at the floor, ashamed.

_"You can't lose your temper, Bowser. No one ever falls in love with a man who loses his temper,"_ he thought. His eyes lifted from the floor to Peach's back. _"Look at her skin..." _There was a silky quality to it, and it glistened even in the dim interior lighting of the dungeon. He reached out as if to touch it, but stopped himself and instead attempted to help her zip up the dress.

A chill ran down Peach's spine as Bowser's cold hand made contact with her skin. She softly gasped and jerked away, but he continued to calmly zip up the dress.

"It's on. Let's go," Peach mumbled. Bowser walked ahead of her, turning back constantly to make sure the princess was still behind him.

A stream of tears wet her dress, and she wiped her cheeks with the dress's sleeves. A sob escaped her throat as a window came into sight. She ran to it and screeched, "Wesley!"

Bowser looked back at her sadly and approached her slowly, as one might approach a nervous fawn.

"Come on. Dinner is waiting."

* * *

Mario heard Peach's scream and sat bolt upright. He tried to brush it off, telling himself that it was only a dream, but he couldn't go back to sleep. He laid back down and stared around the tent's interior.

He laid there for a few minutes before he heard angry footsteps approaching. He saw Bill stomp into the tent and pull Olli out by the arm. Mario watched their conversation take place. Bill sounded very angry, contrasted by Olli's tone of comfort and reason.

"It's your fault she died. If I had shot that witch, none of this would have happened. But you had to calm me down! And look where that got me!" Bill pulled out his gun and pointed it at Olli's head, "Look where that got me…"

Right as Bill's quivering finger pulled the trigger, another man jumped out of the darkness in which he was formerly hidden and in front of the bullet. As blood streamed from his head, he fell to the ground, dead.

"Bo!" Olli cried out, but he knew he had no time to mourn the loss of his best friend. Olli retrieved the folded up cape from in his pocket and disappeared.

"Where the hell did you go!?" Bill screamed.

As Bill yelled, the wizards, who were sleeping nearby, stepped outside of their tents and used their wands to teleport to Bill. Carrie pulled out her wand and aimed at Bill.

"Calm down, Bill, or you'll wake up all the players," Carrie laughed, pressing the tip of the wand into his temple.

"Please, stop…," Bill stayed as still as humanly possible.

"Why should we stop? You never do," Carrie responded, "I know, get on your knees and beg, and then maybe I will.

Mario tried to figure out something he could do, while Luigi was still next to him, fast asleep.

Bill fell to his knees once Carrie removed the wand from his head and begged pathetically, "Please," he sobbed, "Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry. Please."

"What do you think, Cameron?"

"Eh, I don't think he means it, Carrie."

"No, no, I mean it! I'm sorry for earlier, just please—"

Carrie cut him off, "Shut up. You're pathetic," before a stream of light burst from the wand, striking Bill's forehead.

Carrie and Cameron cackled, taking his gun before kicking his body to the ground. Mario stepped out of the tent and tried to comfort Bill before he died, but it was too late. Bill gasped as he took his final breath.

"Come on, Olli. We'd better go back to sleep so we can travel again tomorrow," Mario called.

Olli removed his cape as he trailed back inside, and both men went to sleep, plagued with dreams of the violence they had just witnessed.

* * *

Rosalina awoke from a terrible dream, panting to catch her breath. She had just relived her mother's death: the gruesome car crash, her severed legs, her glassy eyes as she lived her last moments. Rosalina began to cry uncontrollably, and the Lumas rushed to her side to comfort her.

"Don't be sad, Mama!" the young Luma smiled.

"What's wrong?" the old Luma asked.

"I had a dream about my mother."

"Oh…" the old Luma paused to think of what he could say, "Just remember that she's always with you. She's up in the stars and comets, watching over you. And that's not the only place she is, she's a part of you too. She lives in your spirit."

"Please, mama, no more crying."

Rosalina smiled up at her baby, wiping away her tears, "No more crying."


End file.
